Eyes On Me
by ScarsOfTime
Summary: He had always felt that someone was watching him, but who? NaruHina Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.

A/N: Hello again. Thought I'd write another oneshot featuring Naurto and Hinata again. I must admit that I don't think this one is on par with my other one, but hopefully you guys will like it. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please review if you can, they brighten my day :) And thanks to those who read and enjoyed Moonlit Night, never thought it'd get many reviews. Take care and enjoy.

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It was a feeling he had been familiar with for as long as he could remember: the feeling of being watched. But what was so perplexing about this feeling was that it wasn't one of hostility, far from it actually. It was more of a feeling of ease, comfort, and security, the kind one feels when being tucked into bed by ones mother, or when one slips into a hot bath after a long and trying day. It was the only time he felt truly at peace, just knowing that there was someone out there that cared enough about him to monitor his safety. It had been so long since he had felt this 'presence.' Roughly two and a half years to be more precise.

For Uzumaki Naruto, that was two and a half years too many.

Since his academy days, he had been fully aware of being watched while he had trained alone. He wasn't as horrible a ninja as the other children and instructors had made him out to be. He knew just as well as any how to detect the presence of chakra other than his own, whether it be docile or not. It was in those days that had been the most difficult to endure in his lifetime. Naruto could remember the way he was always shunned by the villagers for being 'that demon boy', or by his fellow peers as 'dead last' or a 'failure.' Try as the boy might he could never be accepted for who he was, and that was why he pushed himself so hard to become stronger.

And in his attempts to better himself, there was always that someone there to keep him company, to keep him going when he thought he could not any longer, and most of all, to feel like he was wanted. Naruto had always been curious as to who it was that observed him so closely, but every time he tried to get a look at who it was, the being would just vanish. At first he figured it was his mind playing tricks on him, maybe perhaps as punishment for his little pranks in the village, but soon enough as he went back to occupy himself with his training, it would make itself known yet again.

In the end the young outcast decided to just let it be so long as he was safe. In a way it made him glad to know he had caught the eye of an admirer, perhaps the person would even come forward of their own will and ask if they could be friends. But the days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and soon enough it had been years. And yet it had become routine to find himself training whilst being watched just a little while later. Of course, all good things must come to an end.

It had devastated the village of Konoha to learn that the last remaining Uchiha had abandoned his home in order to gain the power necessary to utterly destroy his older brother and murderer of his family, but none more so than his two teammates. It had been so sudden for Naruto to find that he was to leave his home in order to train with the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, just after his best friend had left. What had devastated him further was the fact that he would be gone for almost three years. What about the village? His life? That feeling of security? All of his friends… he wouldn't be able to see them for so long.

The boy had been given until dawn the next day to prepare for his departure. After making sure all of the necessities he would need were packed, he had one last task to take care of. It had been dusk, his preferred time to train. The training area was a secluded space in the forest only he and one other knew about. He had gone through his usual exercises: chakra control, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kunai target practice, the last of which he saved for a specific purpose. When he was down to the last of his projectiles, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, making sure the 'presence' was still there. Very carefully, he launched it at the target in the middle of the tree, hitting it dead center. With lightning quick speed, he jumped into the trees and back towards his home, hoping that they, whoever it was, got his note.

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It had been a long while since the boy had left, and she was fairly sure that he was nowhere near the area anymore. Quickly and quietly, a young girl jumped from her hiding spot in the tree not too far from the clearing where the boy she admired most had been in only minutes before. She was watching him intently, as she always did, and found it strange for him to leave so abruptly, not to mention he had left the kunai embedded in the target like that. The girl carefully approached the tree and pulled out the projectile with little difficulty. She had seen him place something on it earlier, but she was surprised to find a note attached to it. Quivering, delicate hands unfolded the paper, anxious to find what was written on it. There, in very messy, almost hastily written ink, was a single sentence:

**Wait for me.**

The girl stood there in confusion, wondering just what on earth this could mean. However, she could not shake off the ominous feeling that was steadily building up within her. The fragile silence that had covered the forest was shattered by the soft words of a young girl.

"I will, Naruto-kun…"

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The years had gone by horribly slow for the now mature young man as he walked towards the gates he longed to see for so long in the distance.

"Home, sweet home, eh kid?" his sensei had asked him.

"Hai…"

Jiraiya looked at his apprentice with confusion and slight concern. "Don't sound too happy, Naruto, you're making me antsy."

Naruto looked up at his mentor with a forced smile. "Gomen, ero-sennin. I just have a lot on my mind."

The white-haired man sighed, looking downcast. "Obviously not enough on it to stop calling me that…"

"Well it's not my fault you're out doing 'research' all hours of the day," he said, thoroughly annoyed.

"Well how else do you expect me to keep food on our plates? If it weren't for my books you hate so much, you'd have starved long ago!"

"You and I both know you have enough money from your first book to feed me and the entire village of Konoha for three years, you pervert!"

"Hai, hai, no need to overreact…speaking of Konoha-" he said pointing ahead of them.

They were mere feet away from entering the village. From what Naruto could tell, there was a whole welcoming committee waiting for them just inside the gate. He could see the whole of what was left of the rookie nine: Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru. Even Team Gai was there, although he wasn't surprised that Neji had failed to show up. Naruto also couldn't help notice that a certain other Hyuuga had failed to show. He could understand Neji, but why hadn't…

"NARUTO! Welcome home, baka!"

His thoughts had been rudely interrupted by a wave of pink smothering him.

"Nice to see…you…too, Sak…ura…c-can't…breathe…!"

"Omigosh! I'm so sorry, Naruto, I didn't mean to squeeze you so hard" the pink-haired vixen said apologetically.

"I-it's okay," he managed to choke out. He made a mental note to ask her when she had gotten so strong.

"Naruto-kun, it has been far too long," the green clad Rock Lee stated with his 'nice-guy' pose.

"Welcome back, Naruto," a bored Shikamaru said whilst looking up at the clouds. Naruto was surprised to find Ino, who looked very sexy by the way, clinging on to the laziest ninja in the world.

"Yes, welcome home baka!" the aforementioned female shouted.

"Nice to see you again, Ino. Nice catch Shikamaru, I didn't know you liked the loud, bossy types!" Naruto laughed. Or he would have if Ino had not just slammed her fist onto the top of his skull with a satisfied "Hmph" afterwards.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed with his head in his hand.

"Still the same old Naruto," a chuckling Choji laughed as he placed more chips into his mouth.

"Lemme help ya up there," Kiba offered as he pulled the grumbling Naruto up. "Two minutes back and you're already pickin' fights, haha."

"WOOF!"

Naruto practically jumped out of his skin when he saw the huge beast behind Kiba. "What the hell is that!?"

At this point Kiba was practically on the floor bawling with laughter. It was all he could to answer his friends question. "You mean you don't recognize Akamaru? Hahaha!"

"You mean that's Akamaru!"

"Of course it is."

"WOOF!"

He just stood there and scratched the back of his in disbelief until he noticed a hooded figure standing just behind the others. "Who are you?"

"You mean you don't remember?" the man answered back. He sounded almost…hurt.

"Umm, it's kinda hard to tell when your face is covered like that."

"You didn't have a problem recognizing the others…" the figure said almost angrily. "Even though we met long ago you should remember the faces of your comrades because… it can hurt the person who talks to you."

"That confusing use of words, that can only mean you're…Shino?"

"Finally, you remember."

"Well like I said it's hard to remember someone if your face is covered like that."

"But it was always covered."

"Yes, but not _fully_!"

"…"

The blonde boy sighed. He didn't remember Shino being this moody over something before. It was depressing the hell out of him. What was even more depressing was the fact that not every one of his friends had come to see his return. Deciding that now was not a good time, and that he had to report to Tsunade no baa-chan, he said his farewells to the group and followed Jiraiya to the Hokage Tower.

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Exhausted. That was the only word he could use to describe how he felt at that moment. It had been four hours since he entered the tower, and although it had been a heartfelt (and painful, as Tsunade didn't take too kindly to being called baa-chan) reunion, the report had been an extensive one. Now all the boy wanted to do was have dinner and get some shuteye. However, as he was walking to his favorite restaurant (Ichiraku's Ramen, of course), he felt that he was being watched. It had been so long since he felt that feeling. His mood was instantly shifted from downright glum to straight up happy, although he didn't show it lest his admirer get suspicious.

It was then he noticed just what time it was. It was the time between day and night, twilight. Blue eyes gazed into the orange sky as he remembered that this was his favorite time to train when he was younger. Naruto did a complete one-eighty and darted back towards the forest and his private training grounds.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

It was strange coming back to the clearing after so long. When the young man got there, he had noticed that his targets nailed to the trees had become overrun by moss and the practice dummy in the center had become weather worn and beat-up. The clearing itself was covered in mounds of dead leaves from autumns gone past. Naruto's sapphire eyes scanned the clearing for a good long minute, taking in the familiar surroundings and feeling relieved that he was finally home.

At that moment he felt the delicate presence of chakra make itself known yet again. He decided that this time would be different. He had to know just whom it was that had observed him so persistently all these years. He made to call out to the person until his eyes got a better look of the target that was just ahead of him. Embedded in it was a rusty, corroded kunai. In fact, it was the very same one he had thrown into it so long ago. He approached the target slowly and carefully pulled out the knife. The note, he saw, was still attached to it.

"Sigh…I guess she didn't see it." Indeed he did know it was a female that was watching him. He recalled as a child smelling a sweet flowery scent in the air after failing to catch his would-be observer. Certainly no male he knew wore floral perfume, at least he didn't think so (he wouldn't put it past Lee). Also the chakra signature seemed to be much more feminine than masculine from his experiences.

He carefully removed the yellowed, weather-beaten paper and opened it. He was amazed to discover that there was an additional sentence just underneath his own writing. It was indeed much neater and feminine than his was, that much was certain.

**Wait for me.**

_I will._

The ninja stared at the note for what seemed like hours, not once noticing that he was not alone in the clearing anymore. He didn't even notice the light crunching of the leaves as the girl came closer until she was standing just behind him. Naruto nearly jumped out of skin when he heard her speak.

"For as long as it takes."

He turned to see a familiar, shy girl looking at the ground, not daring to meet his gaze. He saw that she had changed from when he had last seen her. She still wore an excessive amount of clothes to hide her figure from prying eyes, yet he saw that she had never looked more appealing. She was clad in her usual beige coat, black high-water pants and the usual blue sandals. The young man noticed that she had grown her hair out, and it was now cascading over her shoulders and down to her lower back like a navy blue waterfall. She still wore her headband around her neck just over what he could make out as a fishnet undershirt. However, he couldn't see her face, as it was still downcast.

"Hinata-chan…" he whispered in disbelief.

"H-hai, Naruto-kun…"

For the first time in history, Uzumaki Naruto was completely and utterly speechless. He had been around her for so long and had even talked with her, however briefly, a few times before, yet she had never said a word about any of this to him. Is it that she didn't trust him? Or was it that she was just scared…of him?

"It was…was you the whole time?" Try as he might, he couldn't get his voice to rise above a whisper. He watched as she merely nodded her head, her hands busy pressing her index fingers together in a nervous habit. He had always liked it when she did that. He found it made her look cuter than anything he'd ever seen. But now was not the time to be thinking thoughts like that.

They stood together in silence, every once in a while stealing glances at one another as Naruto sheepishly scratched behind his head and Hinata mashed her fingers together. Neither of them knew what to say or do, it was just so awkward for the two ninjas. It was funny, they had always been told that ninjas should never show emotion, and yet it was emotion that had driven them to accomplish their tasks for the sake of their village. It was emotion that defined who they were and what they stood for, and it was emotion that allowed each other to know just how they felt towards one another, even if words were never spoken. Naruto's musings were finally interrupted by Hinata's soft, beautiful voice.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Hinata-chan?"

"I… I m-missed you… so m-much," she said as she finally dared to look at the boy of her every waking desire. The object of her affection noticed that tears had started flowing freely down her delicate face. It made his stomach twist and turn to see her like that. He decided then and there that he would never want to see her cry ever again. He wouldn't be able to take it.

"Please, Hinata…please don't cry," he said as he moved his fingers across her cheeks in hopes of stemming the flow. He saw that not only had the tears increased their deluge, but also her face had gotten rather red, in effect causing his to turn an equal shade. Then, in a move that shocked them both, Hinata flung herself onto him and a firm but gentle hug, hoping against hope that fate would never take him away from her ever again. Naruto had no idea what was going on, nor did he care. All he cared about was holding onto this girl who cared so deeply for him when no one else would.

"I missed you, too," he finally said as he idly stroked her silky hair. It was a few more minutes before Hinata's sobbing had died down to gentle breathing as she rested her head on the boys shoulder. Finally, she remembered just where she was and quickly broke the hug, much to both their dismay.

"G-gomen, Naruto-kun. I-I don't know what c-came over me," she said with a hasty bow.

"Ah, uh, don't worry about it, Hinata-chan," he said half-heartedly. "Can I…ask you something?"

"Hai."

"Well, umm…why did you always watch me train?"

He watched as she blushed even deeper than he had ever seen. Was that shade even possible?

"I-I, umm, ano…i-it's b-because…I…"

"You?" he said inquisitively. He had to admit, it was amusing to see her get worked up like this, she was just…adorable.

"I…"

"Yes?"

The poor girl knew she wouldn't be able to say it. It was even hard just thinking it to herself, let alone saying it aloud. There was only one option she could think of right now, and she wasn't exactly in the right state of mind at the moment. Before the boy even knew what hit him, his lips were connected with Hinata's as she threw herself onto him in his, as well as her, first ever kiss. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt in his entire life. He never knew such a display of affection could make one feel so invigorated. It ended all too quickly for him as she pulled away from him, eyes still closed, as well as his. They slowly opened their eyes, and Naruto's mind finally registered the sight before him. Never had he seen anything so beautiful, so perfect. Her eyes were the same shade of pale lavender that he remembered, yet they had never been so lustrous.

She didn't have to say it now for him to understand just what it was she was trying to get across to him. She was in love with him, that much he figured out. The girl stared at him expectantly, still dazed, hoping that her one true desire wouldn't be crushed before her very eyes.

"How long have you felt this way," Naruto finally asked.

"Ever since…ever since I first saw you," Hinata answered calmly. "I-I saw how they treated you. How everyone treated you so h-horribly. B-but you just smiled and held your head up high, never giving in to their hatred. I s-saw how you t-trained so hard to get their acceptance. A-at first I just admired you, a-and how strong you were. But, as time went on, I…" Her embarrassment had overcome her and she finally buried her face into her crushes shoulder. "You must hate me right now…" she mumbled.

Despite how muffled her words were, he had heard them and immediately went on the offensive.

"H-hey hold on Hinata! I-If there's one thing I feel for you right now, its definitely not hate!"

"Her ears perked up at this and dared to again look at his handsome face. "R-really?"

"Really! I-in fact, I, uhh, w-well I don't know what I feel exactly…b-but I think we c-could make this work," he stated a bit faster than he intended.

He heard her gasp as her face had once again blushed a deep crimson and looked at him as if she couldn't believe what she had heard. "Y-you mean…?"

"Umm…only if you want to, I mean…I don't think I've ever felt this way about a girl before. Not even Sakura-chan, hehe…"

She then did something he had hardly ever seen her do before: she smiled, wider and more genuine than she could ever have achieved. Naruto, too, smiled back with his goofy grin that Hinata loved so much. It was when he saw her like that, that perhaps…perhaps he _was_ in…love. He slowly leaned in towards the girl of his affection, the one who had cared for him more than anything else, and gave her a kiss more passionate than the first. When they broke apart, Hinata laid her head on his shoulder and give a content sigh.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Hinata-chan?"

"I…love you."

"I…love you, too."

The young beauty smiled and held Naruto tighter, still unable to believe that this was all real. The young man held similar thoughts in his mind. Why, only a few hours ago he had never felt glummer, and now he had never felt happier in his life. He finally found out who his admirer was, and couldn't have imagined it to be a better person.

"Hey, Hinata?"

"Hai, Naruto-kun?"

"Does this mean you won't be watching me train anymore?" Leave it to Naruto to kill the mood.

"I-I suppose not…but I could t-train with you, if you like? You won't have to be alone anymore." She answered with a smile.

"Hai, I like that idea a lot better," he said happily as he gave her another kiss.

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_Finis_


End file.
